McCarthy increasing foot patrols to fight crime

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McCarthy increasing foot patrols to fight crime

Chicago cops unveiled another layer to their anti-violence strategy on Monday

At a news conference, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy announced that officers are now patrolling prioritized areas on foot as well as in vehicles as part of Operation Impact, targeting criminal activity in the 20 areas of the city with the most violent crime.

Officers will be assigned to the foot patrols in these areas following their completion of the Police Academy and a 12-week field-training program. Foot patrol teams will be comprised of a varying number of recruits, veteran police officers and an area supervisor.

“Residents in the prioritized zones will not just see more officers in patrol cars, they’ll see Chicago police officers literally walking their streets,” said Superintendent McCarthy. “We are calling it Operation Impact and in the coming months, these new foot patrols will be phased into all the zones.”

Superintendent McCarthy also announced that at the end of the first 12 weeks of 2013 more than 1,550 illegal firearms have been recovered from the streets of Chicago.